Help with Aggression

I have been having a problem with my 12 month old lab/shepherd possibly husky or chow mix as far as agression towards other dogs...not all dogs, it just seems to be puppies, small dogs and other less dominant dogs.

I've had him since 6 weeks old (part of an abadoned litter on a construction site). He's a big lover, has not displayed one ounce of agression towards humans or his cats. He was socialized ever since he completed his series of shots, the agression didn't start until about 9 months. Whenever approached by larger dogs, he immediately rolls over on his back and displays all kinds of submissive behavior. He plays well with most large dogs.

He seems to sense that a dog is less dominant immediately, and doesn't even seem to break stride when heading towards them. He pins them down and growls. He hasn't bitten or broken any skin, but I've been right on top of him when it happens so don't know how far he would go if I didn't intervene. I've also started using a muzzle on him when I know he may be around the "triggers" to his aggression, but it is still very scary for the dog he is going after. I have no problem controlling him on leash, so rarely let him off leash any more, which I feel so bad about as he loves to run.

Any suggestions on how to deal with this? Is there a fix, or is this just his nature and doomed to be an on-leash dog forever??

I would really recommend getting help from a professional behaviorist for any aggression problems. Aggression can get you into trouble quickly. A behaviorist needs to see your dog first hand in action and then can evaluate why your dog is responding in that way and teach you how to respond to it so that the dog doesn't act that way again. Good luck. Call your vet for reccommendations of behaviorists near you.

my own (un)professional opinion is that you are confusing aggression with dominance. what your dog is doing is what dogs normally do when interacting with pack members. at the same time, i understand that the other owners at the dog park dont want to hear about pack dominance, they just want your dog off theirs (and who could argue with them) The 9 months bit is a big indicater that your dog prob isnt nuetered, and has just realized that he is Mr. Macho and can boss around all the little dogs. Nuetering will end this behavier quickly.

if I am incorect, and ur dog does have aggresion issues it's prob due to the fact that your dog was seperated from his mother and littermates at a very young age, so he never got that feed back from them as to what the differance between playing and 'oww'. with socialisation, and romping with other dogs, your buddy should learn that teeth can hurt.

I have consulted with a behaviorist, but she never witnessed the behavior. We worked on getting him to respond to commands. She did not want to put him in the situation until he responded to the "come" without hesitation. Unfortunately we have run out of sessions before we got there...and I hate to have to spend another $800, but may have to do so to continue on. Since my last post he's been put on "restriction" at one of the doggy daycares locally...they don't have the facilities to separate the small dogs from the larger more dominant dogs, so he's gotten in trouble there.

The behaviorist did say that sometimes you just have to live with it, and considered it fortunate we know what his triggers are so we can avoid the problem as much as possible.

It seems like Cesar never says you have to live with anything! I may need to find some other resource...maybe somewhere he can go and stay for awhile.

i have mixed feelings about ceasar millan since i hav heard that he is old fashioned and stuff just for tv showing off

but idk

my doberman has trouble too i walk him with a head collar to control him better but when he sees another dominant dog staring at him... he stares back and gets restless jumps sometimes growls sometimes or bark sometimes

i was at the vet we were fine by ourselves then a small dog comes in very nice my dog stares at him i pull on the head collar to try to break his stare i make him sit stay still he does fine for a little bit i make him shake paws but then he keeps staring and lets out a small growl i say no and make him sit and trying to get him focused on me at least he didnt pull me over there! im happy and proud of him for that then he gets restless and jumps up on me several times! he never does that normally i keep making him sit trying to calm him down

overall that went better than it could have so thats cool i guess i should bring chicken or treats to distract him and reward him for sitting nicely